Construction invoice templates

As a construction worker, you know a job doesn’t always go as planned. More often than not, there’ll be a hiccup or two that may require more time and/or material to get the job done. Unforeseen circumstances should be part and parcel of your invoicing process—added costs that raise your initial quote need to be noted and explained. Maintaining a level of transparency lets your customers know that they can trust you to do work for them in the future.

Construction invoices will vary depending on the specific work being performed. Your particular trade or even client may demand a more or less technical explanation of your services and rates. In general, a sample construction invoice template will include the following:

1. The name of your company
2. The name of your customer
3. The duration of the work you’re billing for
4. An invoice number
5. A description of your work
6. Payment terms detailing your preferred payment methods, as well as any payment options or applicable warranty information
7. Project notes
8. An itemized list of materials used to complete the job, including quantities for each type of material, the unit price, and a total for each type of material used
9. A detailed breakdown of labor, including hours worked, hourly rate and the total amount to be charged for each type of labor input
10. A separate line item for the total cost of materials
11. A separate line item for the total cost of labor
12. The price you’re charging, including applicable tax
13. Payment due date

Building on that framework, you may want to break down the price so the customer knows how the costs of both labor and materials are divided. Such a break down may list the hours worked performing different aspects of the job. For example, if you’re framing a room, as well as roughing in the electricals for it, you may want to charge different hourly rates respectively. Customers want to know what they’re paying for, so being as detailed as possible is a smart move.

Your invoicing window is fairly flexible with construction, since projects  typically last a considerable amount of time. From the initial meeting, the project will have to be evaluated, laid out and scheduled. Often, projects need to be completed in phases, with lengths of time in between.

One option is to match your invoicing with the project phases—this ensures you’re getting paid consistently as the job unfolds and more materials is needed. For instance, if you’re renovating multiple rooms in a home and doing one room at a time, you may bill for the materials and work as each room is completed. Similarly, if it’s a larger project,  such as building an addition to a home, you may divide payments up into monthly installments over the specified duration of the project. This option may be ideal all-around as customers often prefer to pay in installments.

Another route you can take is to charge the full amount after the job is completed to your customer’s satisfaction. More wary customers prefer this as they are assured the job won’t be left partially completed. This option requires more upfront capital from your company, and it may not be the best choice for smaller operations.

A third option is to require full or partial payment before the project starts. Not only may this method be objectionable to some customers, but you may sacrifice wiggle room for unforeseen costs as the job progresses.

You take great pains to ensure your work looks professional—shouldn’t your invoices reflect that? Here are some pro tips to keep your invoices looking good to make your process effective and efficient.

1. Details, details, details – a typical construction project entails a lot of different aspects. It’s important for you to spell everything out clearly and completely for your customer. It may all be Greek to them, but the customer wants to know your services are worth what you’re charging.
2. Keep it neat and clear – this goes hand in hand with detailing your work. Since there are many moving parts to a project, you have to lay it out in terms your customer can at least partially understand. A jumbled mess of industry terms can be disconcerting to a customer.
3. Automation – if you find yourself behind on your invoicing, it may be time to look into automating the process. Automation ensures accurate and prompt invoicing while saving you time and money in the long run.

When you think you’re ready to upgrade to an automated invoicing process, make sure you check out Sage Business Cloud Accounting online invoicing tools and explore how they can take your business to the next level.

Start your free trial today!